


Adoptions And Dinner Dates

by trustbutverify



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Captain America Steve Rogers, Fluff, Kitten Adoptions, M/M, Modern Bucky Barnes, Oral Sex, Shrunkyclunks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 12:54:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14832659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trustbutverify/pseuds/trustbutverify
Summary: Bucky Barnes is working his way through vet school at a pet store, minding his own business, when Steve Rogers comes walking in to adopt a pet.





	Adoptions And Dinner Dates

This work was inspired by artwork by [ComedicDrama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/comedicdrama). You can view this amazing piece of artwork [here](https://comedicdrama.tumblr.com/post/174224802529)! 

A very big thank you to [BuckyButt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckybutt) for beta'ing this work! I added to it after the beta was complete, so any mistakes still in there are on me.

* * *

Bucky was pretty sure that Captain America was looking over the kennels the Humane Society had set up for the adoption event going on all weekend. He saw him from behind and definitely noticed the incredible body the guy wasn't trying in the least to hide with that skin tight shirt he was wearing.

  
Then the tall blonde had turned around and Bucky saw those gorgeous blue eyes. Once he'd managed to pull his attention away from how beautiful the man was, Bucky was almost positive he recognized him from the photos that had been plastered everywhere since the Battle of New York.

  
Bucky watched him for a few minutes, waiting to see if one of the girls from the Humane Society would ask if he needed help, but both of the girls were filling out adoption forms with new pet parents. Possible Captain America stood awkwardly, looking from one kennel to the next with a little frown on his face. Bucky sighed, and started walking towards him. Technically, it wasn't his job at the pet store to help with potential adopters, which was what the volunteers were for, but nobody would say anything about him helping out. He was very much a supporter of the 'Adopt Don`t Shop' philosophy, so he didn't mind helping out. Plus, the guy was gorgeous, and he might actually be Captain America. How many people could say they helped Captain America find his future fur baby?

  
As Bucky got closer, he got more confident that it really was Steve Rogers. By the time he was standing next to him, he was positive.

"Did you need some help with anything?" Bucky asked when Steve turned his attention from the dogs to Bucky.

"Oh, yeah that would be great. I was thinking about adopting a dog. I run every morning and I see people running with their dogs. Thought it might be nice to have a running partner." Steve said, looking at several dogs in pens with information packets hanging from them. Bucky knew it was a sad sight, happy little dogs wagging their tales hopefully at people passing by the kennels. Steve had the look of someone with the sudden insane urge to take all off them home.

"Dogs make great running buddies, no doubt. But ... I gotta ask, for the sake of the dog, are you out of town as much as the news makes it seem like you are? Cause if you are, I'm not sure that's really fair to the dog." Bucky responded. While Bucky was all for getting these dogs adopted, he wasn't good with sending a dog into a bad situation. An owner that was gone constantly wasn't much better than being in the shelter.

Steve frowned, a little crease appearing between his eyes. "I didn't really think about that. My schedule isn't exactly set, but I'd say I'm away from home probably two days out of every week. Sometimes longer. That would be a problem?" Steve looked questioningly at Bucky.

"Do you have anybody that can dog sit for you?" Bucky asked hopefully.

"Uh ... well no, not really. Another reason to adopt, I was kinda hoping to get some company." Steve smiled a little self-depreciating smile.

Bucky gave him a sympathetic smile back. "If you don't have a dog sitter, you'd have to have the dog kenneled. Which, to be real honest with you, no matter how good the place is it's still kind of like putting your dog in doggy jail. And it's probably not something you can do with little to no notice if you have to leave quickly." Bucky really hated this. Being the guy having to tell Captain America 'Sorry Sir, you can't adopt the poor little orphan dog because your world saving schedule wouldn't really be good emotionally for the animal'.

Steve looked crestfallen.

"What about a kitten?" Bucky said a little desperately. He was not going to be responsible for making Captain America sad.

"A kitten? Wouldn't I still need a sitter or something?" Steve asked, looking a little hopeful again.

"Yes and no. Cats are a little better about being on their own than dogs are, they don't need to be walked and you can leave a cat overnight without worrying too much about it. I mean, you can't leave them for days or anything, but a night away isn't anything they can't cope with. People are generally more likely to agree to stop by your place to feed and water a cat and play with them for a few minutes than they are to agree to taking on the responsibility of dog walking and all that. Maybe a neighbor that would be willing to stop by when you're away?" Bucky asked. Surely one of his neighbors would be willing to check on Captain America's cat. Bucky really couldn't imagine anyone telling this guy no to a twenty minute chore while he was off doing God knows what to save people’s lives. Plus, he did a pretty good impression of a kicked golden retriever with that blonde hair and those gorgeous blue eyes of his.

Steve perked up. "The nurse next door offered to water my plants while I was gone. I don't have any plants, but she'd probably water the kitten for me." Bucky bet she would. An excuse to be in pretty regular contact with this guy? Yeah, Bucky would water whatever the guy wanted too.

"Great! So how about we head over and look in the kitten room? See if we can find you a furry companion." Bucky smiled at him.

Steve laughed, bringing up a hand to rub at the back of his neck. "A furry companion?" He asked, giving Bucky a look that clearly said he was he was sure he wouldn't be using Bucky's terminology to describe his potential future pet.

Bucky shrugged and started walking towards the little glass room that held a wall of cages for the kittens up for adoption. "People can be weird about their pets. I've worked here long enough to know to some people these aren't pets, they're surrogate children. Best to air on the side of caution until I know where they stand."

Steve followed behind Bucky, copying him as he used the hand sanitizer dispenser on the wall next to the door. Bucky walked through the door first, noticing how much smaller the room got as Steve followed him in. The guys shoulders were enormous, and their ratio to his waist was amazing. Bucky worked out and ran regularly, tried to make sure that his diet didn't get too out of control while still not actually trying to monitor his calorie count. But he was pretty sure even if he doubled his work out routine and started watching his diet like a hawk, there was no way he'd ever get results like that. He didn't know anybody at his gym who'd managed to get results like that either. He wondered if that was part of the serum, or if Steve actually had to work for that ratio.

"Ok, so we've got a few kittens, and a couple of older cats too. See one that piques your interest?" Bucky asked.

Steve walked down the short wall of cages, looking at each of the cats and kittens inside. They were all cute, and some were showing interest in him while others slept on the little perches inside the cages. The very last cage on the row had several kittens in, all up against the bars and reaching their little paws through as Steve got closer. He lifted a finger to the bars and instantly had several curious paws batting at his finger.

Steve looked back to Bucky, smiling as the kittens pawed at him. "Can I see these little guys?"

"Sure." Bucky smiled back. How could he not? Steve had a great smile, it lit up his whole face and Bucky felt like it was catching. He reached past Steve to lift the latch on the cage, swinging the door open slowly so the passel of kittens clinging to the bars didn't fall out. Two of the group of eight clung to the bars as the door opened, and Steve laughed as he reached to grab one in each hand. The kittens immediately latched onto him, using razor sharp little claws to climb his arms up towards his shoulders, his long sleeve shirt doing nothing to protect his skin.

Steve yelped and froze, eyes widening as the little monsters used his body like a jungle gym. Bucky snorted as quietly as he could and raised his hand to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. It was too much, that sound should not come out a guy that size.

"We have rubber caps that you can use on their claws to keep them from climbing on you like that. Some people declaw their cats, but we make you sign an agreement promising not to do that before we'll let you adopt one. I'm a vet student, and I can tell you it's just cruel to do that." Bucky said as he reached over to grab the closest kitten off Steve's shoulder. He held the ball of fluff against his chest as Steve reached up to bring the remaining kitten down to his own chest.

"Declaw them? That just sounds painful." Steve murmured, using one finger to rub softly behind the ear of the kitten.

"It’s painful. It's a surgical procedure that removes the claws. Most vets will refuse to do all four feet, but even just doing the front feet is cruel. If would be like removing your finger tips to the first knuckle. It can cause pain and tenderness to their feet for the rest of their lives." Bucky said sadly. As a vet student doing clinicals, he didn't really get a say in what procedures he watched and participated in. That didn't mean he had to agree with every vet that he learned under though, and that was one surgical procedure that Bucky wasn't going to be performing for anyone once he started practicing.

  
"Oh yeah, no. I won't be having that done." Steve sat down on the floor in front of the cages when his kitten started to get restless in his hands, letting the fluff ball climb on his lap. Bucky sat the one he'd been holding on Steve's lap and watched as the six still in the cage used Steve's shoulders as a ramp to climb out of the cage. If possible, the guy became even more attractive with a lap full of kittens.

"You're a vet student?" Steve asked, looking up at Bucky with curiosity and a bit of respect on his face.

"Yeah, I'm finishing up my last year at NYU. They have a great program there. And this place is great about working around my clinic hours." Bucky said, gesturing at the store in general. After eight years in school, Bucky was damn proud of himself. He may be graduating while drowning in student loan debt despite the scholarships and grants he'd managed, but it was going to be worth it. All of the sleepless nights studying, the struggle of maintaining his job while juggling his class schedule, the crappy apartment he shared with three other people he'd met off an ad hanging up in the student center because it was cheaper than anything he could afford on his own. It was all going to be worth it when he graduated and was able to get a job in the field he'd wanted to be a part of since he was kid.

"That's great!" Steve enthused, juggling a few kittens gingerly while looking up at Bucky. "We didn't really take our pets to the vet much when I was a kid. We had a hard enough time taking ourselves to the doctor if we were sick."

"Yeah, I'd imagine quite a bit has changed about owning a pet since the last time you had one." Bucky agreed, not really sure how much he was going to need to teach Steve about pet care in the 21st Century.

"I never really had one. I had asthma pretty bad and my Ma wasn't really thrilled with the idea of me having one. We didn't really know much about that back then either. I used to feed the ally cats sometimes though, if we had any scraps." Steve said. He seemed to be favoring one of the kittens in particular, a little long haired gray and white one that had settled happily into the crook of one of his elbows.

"Well we can get you situated with everything you'll need before you leave. And I work every weekend, so if you have any questions later on I'd be happy to help." Bucky offered with a charming smile. He'd be absolutely happy to see Steve again. He might not have a shot at the guy, but he'd be happy with seeing him in the store every once in a while.

"Yeah, that would be great." Steve smiled, and blushed a little. Bucky watched the light flush creep up Steve's cheeks and wasn't sure if it was just a Steve thing or if it was a Steve reacting to Bucky thing. Either way, it was a really nice thing to watch.

"So, any of these little guys catch your eye?" Bucky asked, gesturing to the kittens in Steve's lap.

Steve decided to take the little gray and white one home. Bucky put them all back in the kennel as he led Steve around the store grabbing a bag of cat food, a couple of bowls, some treats, a litter box, and a few cat toys. He showed Steve the little rubber caps for the claws and explained how to put them on. He promised it would help save Steve's furniture and skin alike. They filled out some adoption paperwork and Steve followed him up to the register to pay for everything. After he got it all in bags he went back to the cat room to put the kitten in a box for the trip home and handed it all over to Steve.

Steve thanked him and promised to come back if he had any questions. Bucky watched him cradle the box to his chest gently as he walked out of the store. There was just something about a guy that was kind to animals that did it for Bucky. There was also something about a guy built like a brick shit house that did it for Bucky too. Bucky had a thing for a guy that could man handle him a little bit. Something about a guy that could pick him up and move him where he wanted him, could hold him down and give him exactly what he needed made Bucky's knees a little weak. Steve Rogers was checking off quite a few boxes on Bucky's perfect man list.

Bucky shook his head of those thoughts and walked to the back of the store where there was a pallet of dog food waiting to be stocked and got back to work.

* * *

Bucky had been at work for a few hours when Janice called him over the radio to tell him there was a customer up front asking for him. There were a few people that asked for him by name, some of the regulars that came in over the weekends and knew he'd be there.

When he got up by the registers, he caught sight of Steve standing by the counter holding the little cardboard box he'd sent him home with last weekend and frowned. Steve hadn't seemed like the kind of guy to adopt a pet and then bring it back, and after only a week of trying. Steve hadn't even come back in to ask for help if he was having problems as far as Bucky knew. His opinion of Steve dropped quite a bit as he approached him, but he kept a professional smile on.

"Hey Steve, everything ok?" Bucky asked as he eyed the box in Steve's hand.

"I'm so glad you're here! I've been trying to get those caps on for hours and she just keeps wiggling and I don't want to hold her down and hurt her, but all I've managed to do is glue the cap to the top of her foot. Now I can't get the cap off and she keeps trying to shake it off, but it's not budging and she really doesn't like it." Steve ranted, looking helplessly down at the box in his hands.

Bucky laughed. Poor Steve looked frazzled and concerned, his cheeks turning pink as he shifted from foot to foot holding the box, but it didn't sound like he was trying to give up the kitten, and Bucky felt a little bad for jumping to conclusions. "Yeah, those are probably a little easier to get on with two people." Bucky said, he reached to take the box from Steve and set it on counter. "Let's take a look and see what we've got here."

Bucky opened the box and looked down at the miffed little ball huddled in the box. He could see the brightly colored pink cap stuck to the fur of her front paw and she was refusing to put that paw down. Bucky picked her up and brought her to his chest, using one hand to move the cap to see how stuck it was. It looked like it was only stuck to the fur, and there was a bit of wiggle room between skin and the cap.

"Ok, so don't have any kind of solvent here, but I can snip a little fur and get this off of her. She looks fine, just a little mad at life right now." Bucky reassured.

"Yeah, she was pretty mad before I put her in the box to bring her here. The box just made it a whole lot worse. I hope it's ok that I brought her, I just didn't know what to do." Steve laughed, raising a hand to rub at the back of his neck.

Bucky waived a hand in a dismissive gesture. "It's fine, don't even worry about it." It wasn't exactly part of his job description to help the customers use the products that they sold at the store, but on the other hand customer service was a part of his job. Bucky could definitely put this under the customer service category, and if he got to spend a little time with Steve while he did, then that was just all the better.

"Ok, so why don't you hold her, and I'll clip this off. Did you bring the rest of the caps with you? I can help you get them on while we've got enough hands if you did." Bucky looked up at Steve as leaned over the counter to grab a pair of scissors.

Steve got the pack of tips out of his front pocket and held them up. Bucky smiled and grabbed them with the hand holding the scissors and not the kitten, before handing the kitten over to Steve.

"Alright, so just hold her back against your chest and support her weight. She should cooperate with this a little better that way." Bucky said, leaning against the counter to get at the kittens paws. "So did you name her yet?"

"Yeah, I named her Winter." Steve smiled down at the kitten as Bucky pulled a paw up to get to work.

"Yeah? Why Winter?" Bucky snipped a little fur off the front paw and pulled away the cap before getting the nail glue out and putting a drop into a new cap. Thankfully, these packs came with extras.

"She's got the little white mittens on all her feet, but I thought naming her Mittens was kinda cliché. So we went with Winter, cause you wear mittens in the winter." Steve blushed, like he was waiting for his logic there to be judged.

Bucky grinned at the blush and the name. Yeah, it was kind of silly, but Steve blushing over it was pretty cute. "I think it's a great name, and definitely not as cliché as Mittens."

Steve ducked his head and the blush on his cheeks darkened a bit. "So how's school going?"

"Pretty good. I was able to help remove an intestinal blockage in a pit bull yesterday. Turned out to be a sock stuck in there that we couldn't see in the x-ray, but the gas patterns were suggesting pretty strongly that there was something in there. It went great and the dog is gonna be fine!" Bucky was proud of that one. The vet he was working under had let him come to his own diagnosis before reviewing it with him, and agreeing that surgery was the best option.

"That's great, Buck!" Steve enthused.

Bucky flicked his eyes up to meet Steve's at that. His name tag said Bucky, but a lot of people didn't really pay attention to that, and he knew Steve knew his name because he asked for it when he came in. Steve had apparently not only paid attention to his name tag, but he'd taken it upon himself to give Bucky a nickname. Bucky wondered if he even realized he'd done it. The blush starting up on his cheeks made Bucky think he'd probably figured it out.

"Yeah, it was a good day." Bucky smiled softly, letting his eyes dart down to Steve's mouth before flicking his eyes back up to meet Steve's. The blush got a little darker. Maybe he had a shot with Steve after all. For all his blushing, he wasn't giving off any kind of offended vibe. A little flustered maybe, but not anything that made Bucky think he was making him uncomfortable. Maybe he was bi? Everybody knew the story about Peggy Carter, but that didn't mean Steve couldn't swing both ways.

Bucky slipped the caps on the rest of Winter's front paws, and moved on to the back feet. She was handling it pretty well with the two of them tag teaming the effort.

"How's she been doing other than the cap fiasco?" Bucky asked.

"She's great. I really like having her around the apartment with me. She plays with everything, so she's pretty entertaining to watch. There's only so much catching up on TV, movies, and books that I can take at a time, you know?" Steve was looking at the little fluff ball in his hands when he said it, affection on his face.

"Yeah, kittens are good for hours of entertainment." There were endless hours of YouTube videos dedicated to the antics of cats. Everybody thinks cats are amusing to watch. Bucky was pretty sure it was good for the soul or something.

"Yeah, I'm figuring that out pretty quick." Steve gave a rueful look down at Winter.

After putting the final cap on one of Winter's toes, Bucky pulled back and looked up at Steve. "That should do it! Those should stay on for a while, and will fall off naturally as the nail grows out. If you have any trouble with the next batch just let me know."

"Thanks Buck, I really appreciate the help." Steve smiled, and Bucky thought he looked a little shy. Like maybe he wanted to say something else, but wasn't quite sure what or how to say it.

* * *

Bucky was hiding behind a pallet in the dog food isle late on Saturday night with a textbook and a notebook in his lap. There was only about an hour left before closing, and he'd already done all of his closing duties that it was possible to do while there were still customers in the store. The only thing he had left to do was mop, and the management didn't approve of wet surfaces while there was the possibility of a customer walking through it and slipping. He was working with Erin and Sarah, both of whom were also in college, and understood the need to slip studying into any available time slot he could find.

Bucky held the notebook closer to his face trying to decipher his own quickly scrawled handwriting, then held it further away from his face to see if that helped. He really needed to work on that if he couldn't figure out what he'd written.

"Bucky?"

"Ack!" Bucky squeaked as his whole body twitched and he dropped the notebook. He twisted his head around to see who'd called his name. "You scared me half to death!" Bucky accused when he was Steve standing at the end of the short isle.

Steve grinned down at him and started walking down the isle to him. "I can see that. That was an interesting sound you made there."

Bucky looked up at the shit eating grin on Steve's face and got a wicked little grin of his own. If Steve wanted to be like that, Bucky could give as good as he got. "Yeah, I make all kinds of interesting sounds with the right kind of stimuli."

Steve's cheeks flamed hard and fast, his hand going to rub at the back of his neck. His mouth went from a shit eating grin to a small shy smile. "Yeah?" He asked, licking his lips and looking down at Bucky and then away.

"Yeah." Bucky said softly, one side of his mouth crooking up a little into a grin. That one word and shy smile had put him and Steve firmly on the same page. Steve was definitely open to Bucky's flirtation.

Bucky closed his books and stood up, he stashed his books behind a couple bags of dog food to be collected later and asked. "So what's up? Everything going well with Winter?"

"Yeah, she's doing great. I just came in to get her a new water bowl, I don't think she likes hers very much. Thought I might say hi while I was here." Steve stuck both his hands in his front pockets and rocket a little on the balls of his feet.

"What makes you think she doesn't like her water dish?" Bucky asked, leaning against the shelf beside him.

"Well I've never seen her drink out of it, and even though I change the water every morning it always seems full. She just waits for me to turn on the faucet in the kitchen or bathroom and then shoves her way into the sink to get to that instead. It's the weirdest thing." Steve looked baffled.

Bucky laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, cats can be ... demanding in their preferences. It's not uncommon for cats to like running water though. They even make water fountain drinking bowls for cats for that reason!"

"No way. This is one of those ‘let's trick the guy from the 1920's into asking for some fancy future product that doesn't really exist’, isn't it? I'm not gonna fall for it, Buck." Steve said, shaking his head. He had a weird combination of amused, embarrassed, and sad on his face.

Bucky frowned. "Have people really done that to you? That's not funny Steve, that's actually kinda mean."

"Uh. Yeah. A few people. Just hazing stuff, it's all meant in good fun I'm sure." Now Steve is definitely looking sad.

"Probably didn't feel fun for you." Bucky said shortly. What kind of asshole would convince Steve that something existed and then send him out asking for it? Poor Steve had probably been completely humiliated when someone at a store had to explain to him that whatever he'd walked into the store convinced existed didn't actually exist. The guy was probably struggling enough trying to adapt to a future he never thought he'd see without having to question whether or not what people were telling him was true in the first place.

"I've learned to Google stuff before I go into the store and ask for it. No big deal, easy to fix." Steve assured him. Like it was no big deal that he had gotten used to double checking everything people said because at least some of the people in his life had proven to him that he had to fact check conversations with them.

"You shouldn't have to Google things before you go to the store. I think you might need new friends, Steve." Bucky said before he could stop himself. He didn’t really know Steve well enough to be inserting his opinions of Steve’s friends like that, it was probably crossing a line.

“I wouldn’t call them friends, Buck. Just some of the guys I work with on occasion. None of my friends have done anything like that, but I appreciate your concern. It’s nice to know you care.” That shy smile was back on Steve’s face.

“I do care, Steve.” Bucky said quietly. Bucky did care. Steve was nothing like what the news, documentaries and books made him out to be. Maybe Steve was all those things, but Bucky hadn’t seen that part of Steve. Bucky was seeing another part of Steve. A soft spoken, shy, compassionate guy, that cared that his new kitten didn’t seem to like her water bowl so he was here to get her a new one. A guy that had thought the best of people, so he never thought to question what a coworker told him until they proved that he had reason to. Bucky was seeing a part of Steve that nobody had thought to include in all of the information out there about him, a part the news didn’t care to report on because it wasn’t as exciting.

“Come on, I’ll show you the water fountains. Winter will love it.”

Steve got a water fountain for Winter and a few replacement filters.

“I can’t believe they really make these.” Steve mumbled for the fourth time as Bucky rang him up at the counter.

“The pet industry is a 60 billion dollar a year industry. People love their pets.” Bucky said, amused.

Steve gave Bucky an amused little grin. He took the bag and the receipt Bucky handed him, but didn’t head for the door. He shuffled his feet for a bit and looked thoughtfully at Bucky for a few seconds.

“Hey Buck, I was thinking …” Steve trailed off.

“Yeah?” Bucky encouraged. He really hoped this was going where he thought it was going.

“I was thinking I’d really like to take you to dinner.” Yeah, that was exactly where Bucky was hoping this was going.

“I’d really like to go to dinner.” Bucky grinned. He pulled some receipt paper from the register and wrote down his phone number. “I’m gonna be doing overnight clinicals at the emergency vet starting Monday. But I can still do early dinner, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind. I like to combine my senior citizen discount with the early bird specials when I can.” Steve deadpanned.

A started bark of laughter erupted from Bucky. Steve Rogers was apparently hiding some sass behind all that shy earnestness. It really made Bucky wonder what else was hiding in there just waiting to come out.

“Don’t forget your military discount.” Bucky snarked back, grinning.

Steve laughed, and Bucky melted a little at the sound. It was a rich, warm sound and it lit Steve’s face up. “I’ll text you, Bucky.”

“Sounds good, Steve.” Steve took the receipt paper with Bucky’s number, his fingers brushing Bucky’s and lingering there for a few seconds before he pulled his hand away and headed out of the store.

Bucky took a shaky breath as he watched Steve leave and a goofy grin spread across his face. He had a date with Steve.

* * *

Bucky sat in his seat on the train and tried very hard not to make a scene. Well, anymore of a scene than he was already making, wearing light blue scrub pants that were covered in blood. He’d taken off his blood covered scrub top because the blood on it hadn’t soaked through to the t-shirt underneath, but he hadn’t had any clothes to change into at the clinic so he kept the bloody pants.

When the crying woman had rushed through the clinic doors an hour before his shift ended, it had looked pretty bad. She was clutching a medium sized brown dog that looked like it had more blood than fur on it to her chest and begging the woman at the counter to help her. Bucky had rushed up, taken the dog from her hands, and instructed her to stay with Sarah at the desk while he rushed the dog to the back.

Once they’d gotten a good look in the back, everyone had relaxed. The poor dog had gotten into a serious argument with a raccoon, but it had been mostly superficial damage. Blood gushing superficial damage, but superficial nonetheless. After a whole lot of shaving, a whole lot of stitches, and one blood transfusion from the clinics rescue dog that volunteered blood when needed, the dog was on his way home with a very relieved owner.

It had taken Bucky close to three hours to clean and stitch up all the cuts from sharp little nails and teeth, but Bucky was glad to do it. He could practice his sutures on all the pigs feet in the world, it still didn’t replace experience with stitching actual wounds. Bucky had taken his time, cleaned out each wound, and put small, even stitches in every laceration. The vet on duty had been impressed with his work and patted him softly on the shoulder in approval when he was done.

Now he was half an hour late for his breakfast date with Steve. He hadn’t had time to make it home to shower and change, and he was trying very hard not to look like he’d committed acts of extreme violence right before he got on the train while other commuters continued to give him the side eye and tried to slowly scoot further away from hm. On the plus side, this was the most personal space he’d ever been allowed on the train during the morning rush. Now if he could just make it the diner without anyone calling the police to report the possible homicide he looked like he’d committed, he’d be alight.

His first few dates with Steve had gone so well. Steve had taken him to dinner twice, and once they’d walked through an Art Walk of local artists showcasing their talent and love of art for what must have been two city blocks. Bucky had loved the light in Steve’s eyes and the enthusiasm for all of the new age modern styles of art that had been on display. He remembered reading something in his history book about Steve being an artist before the war, drawing advertisement posters as the only way he’d been able to contribute before he’s been given the serum. But watching Steve walk through the streets and talking to the artists about their technique, or choice of medium had made it clear to Bucky that art had been much more than a way to contribute before his body was strong enough to.

Art had been a passion for Steve, a passion that Bucky could understand because he felt that same passion when he was helping an animal. He had felt it that morning when he was stitching up that dog, had felt it when he’d went out into the waiting room to tell the owner that she could come to the back now and see her dog. He’d felt it in the relief that washed over her face when she’d seen that yeah, her baby was pretty torn up, but he was going to be fine. His tail was wagging, he was happy to see her, and he was going to be ok. While maybe Bucky didn’t share Steve’s passion for art, he did share Steve’s level of passion. He could understand that kind of passion and how it felt, and so he was able to appreciate it in others. Watching Steve love art like that, had kind of made Bucky love art too.

The sass that slipped out of Steve sometimes, continued to shock and amuse Bucky. Steve was a smart ass little shit hiding under all that apple pie charm that when he let it loose, was all the better for feeling like it came right out of left field. Bucky had learned if he wasn’t paying attention, some of Steve’s dry humor would slip right over his head. Because who expected something like that to come out of wholesome Steve Rogers’ mouth? After a few dates, Bucky did. Now he watched for it like a hawk, eagerly waiting to see what Steve would slip in next.

With Bucky’s schedule of overnight clinicals and his weekends being reserved for his part time work at the pet store, they had so far been on a pretty strict time frame for dates. As much as Bucky wanted to linger over dinner with Steve or peruse the Art Walk for hours, he had to leave to make it for his shift on time. Their dates so far had ended with Steve gently cupping Bucky’s cheek and kissing him softly before wishing Bucky a good shift and letting him go. So today they were going to try breakfast, when the only thing Bucky had to do after was get enough sleep to get him through his next shift. Bucky had been a college student for going on eight years now, he could handle a little sleep deprivation if it meant he could spend more time with Steve.

Bucky sent a quick text to Steve letting him know he was almost there as the train pulled up to his stop, before using the wide berth people were giving him to make his way off the train.

He made his way into the diner and was sure nobody had called the cops, so today really was looking up despite showing up for his date with Steve both late and dirty. Bucky looked around and saw Steve smiling at him from a booth in the back corner of the diner. He lifted a hand to wave and smiled as he started heading in that way.

The smile slipped off Steve’s face and one hand clenched into a fist as he started to rise when Bucky got closer.

“Buck?” Steve asked hesitantly, his eyes lingering on Bucky’s pants.

“Oh! No! It’s fine, everything is fine. Got a little messy at work just before I left and I didn’t have a change of clothes at the clinic or have time to go home before I headed over. I was already late … I’m sorry, maybe I should have just cancelled.” Bucky frowned down at himself. He had really wanted to see Steve, but maybe it really would have been better to put this off until he was respectable.

“No, it’s fine. That was just a little concerning. I really wanted to see you this morning, I’m glad you didn’t cancel.” Steve’s shoulders eased and his fist unclenched, but he continued to stand to greet Bucky when he got to the table. Steve reached a hand up a cup his cheek and kissed the corner of Bucky’s mouth softly.

“I really wanted to see you too.” Bucky leaned into Steve’s touch, bringing his hands up to Steve’s waist and shifting to lean his forehead into Steve’s shoulder when Steve pulled back from the kiss.

Bucky pulled back after a second, and smiled up at Steve. Another thing Bucky really liked about Steve was the couple of inches of height that he had on Bucky.

“How was your shift?” Steve asked when they pulled apart to sit on either side of the booth.

“It was good. I know this looks kind of bad, but it really wasn’t. The dogs going to be fine and I got in some really good suturing practice.” Bucky said, picking up a menu and looking it over.

“That’s great, Buck.” Steve had already ordered them both coffee and pushed the little bowl of creamers towards Bucky while he looked over the menu.

Bucky added two creams and three sugars to his coffee while they waited for the waitress to come take their order. He liked his coffee to taste more like dessert in a cup than coffee.

The waitress didn’t keep them waiting long, smiling at Steve as she asked if they were ready to order. Thankfully, with his legs under the table, Bucky wasn’t scaring the staff with his appearance.

“Can I get two of the breakfast samplers please? Double bacon, eggs over easy and white toast with butter.” Steve asked politely, folding his menu and getting ready to hand it to the waitress.

“You want two full orders of the sampler?” She asked, scribbling on her note pad.

“Yes Ma’am.” Steve confirmed.

“Alright. And for you, Sir?” She switched her attention over to Bucky.

“Can I get the banana foster stuffed French toast please?” Bucky asked. Ok, so he liked his breakfast and his coffee to both resemble dessert. His sweet tooth was insatiable.

“Sure, I’ll get that right out for you guys.” The waitress gave Steve another thousand watt smile before she walked away.

Bucky had noticed over the last few weeks that Steve got a lot of attention. It didn’t bother him exactly, and Steve definitely didn’t return any of the attention. When they were together Steve had a way of making Bucky feel like he was the most important person in the world, but he also managed to stay polite to the people around him. Making Bucky feel special without making others feel slighted. It was a line that Steve was proving he was very good at riding.

“How have you been? Staying busy?” Bucky asked. They had texted daily since their last date, but being here with Steve now, he wanted to hear Steve tell him.

“Not too busy. A few training exercises, but nothing scheduled to pull me out of town any time soon. I haven’t volunteered for anything lately. I’ve found a pretty great reason to stay home when I don’t have to leave.” Steve met Bucky’s eyes as he said it.

“Oh yeah?” Bucky teased.

“Yeah.” Steve reached across the table to lay a hand over Bucky’s. Bucky laced their fingers together, rubbing his thumb over Steve’s.

When the waitress brought their food out, Steve’s breakfast took up half the table. Bucky looked at it enviously as the waitress set his French toast down in front of him. “How do you eat all that and still look like you do? It’s not fair you know. I’d weigh 600 pounds if I ate like you do.” Bucky grumbled.

“Ok, first of all, you’re eating dessert for breakfast. There is so much caramel sauce on that plate they should call it a sundae, and no, the bananas do not redeem it in any way. Second, I work these calories off every day.” Steve defended as he dug into the first of six over easy eggs spread out over two plates. Bucky watched as he dipped a corner of a piece of toast into the runny yolk and brought it to his mouth.

“There is no way you work off that many calories.” Bucky grinned, cutting off a piece of his French toast and swirling it in through the caramel sauce puddled in the bottom of his plate. He needed maximum caramel coverage on each bite.

“I burn this many calories just maintaining my body temperature, Buck. I run a constant fever.” The way Steve said it made it sound like he was bragging, but Bucky knew he wasn’t.

“You’re going to be the best boyfriend ever when the weather gets cold.” Bucky announced.

“Is that what I am, Buck? Your boyfriend?” Steve had stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth and dropped it back down to his plate. He looked earnestly across the table at Bucky, waiting for an answer.

“Well, yeah. I was kind of hoping so.” Bucky said softly, all of his attention on Steve.

“I’d like that, Buck. I’d like that a lot.”

* * *

“Steve!” Bucky gasped, running a hand through Steve’s hair.

Bucky was backed up against the wall in Steve’s bedroom, his scrub pants had been lost somewhere between the front door and his current location. Steve’s shirt was keeping Bucky’s pants company, wherever they were, and Bucky’s shirt was hiked up under his arms as Steve ran a hand over Bucky’s stomach and chest.

Bucky moaned and looked down at Steve on his knees in front of him, his pupils blown wide with arousal and his breaths coming in little pants. Bucky had always liked Steve’s shoulder to waist ratio and seeing it bared in front of him, while Steve looked up at him with his mouth on Bucky’s cock was so much better. Steve’s shoulders were amazing, all hard muscle covered in soft smooth skin.

Steve pulled back and moved his hands to Bucky’s hips to hold him firmly to the wall when Bucky’s hips jerked forward.

“Hold still, Buck. Let me do all the work, I want you to just enjoy it.” Steve took Bucky back into his mouth, bobbing his head forward and back, taking more with each forward motion.

“Oh God, Steve!” Bucky cried. He kept one hand in Steve’s hair, not trying to move him, but running his fingers through Steve’s hair as he moved.

Steve moaned around Bucky’s cock, sending wicked little vibrations through him as he moved up and down. Bucky was sure he’d done this before, there was no way this was Steve’s first time. They hadn’t discussed past partners, or past experiences, Bucky was of the notion that it was best to leave the past where it belonged. Behind him. Steve wasn’t ever hesitant in the way he touched Bucky, or kissed Bucky, and he certainly wasn’t hesitating now. Any shyness Steve had in their conversations seemed to evaporate in the bedroom. Steve was confident and focused.

“Steve, please, I’m gonna …” Bucky gasped, trying to warn Steve. Steve’s mouth was just too hot, too wet, felt too good, and Bucky wasn’t going to last much longer. It was kind of embarrassingly quick, but at the moment Bucky was entirely too caught up in how amazing it felt to really care. Between the sensation of Steve’s mouth and the visual of him on his knees in front of Bucky looking up at him with his lips stretched obscenely around Bucky’s cock, Bucky never stood a chance.

Steve hummed encouragements around Bucky’s cock and moved his head faster, running his tongue along the underside with each up and down movement. Bucky thighs tensed his whole body quivering as his orgasm rushed over him. Hot spurts of cum shot from his cock and right down the back of Steve’s throat, Steve swallowing around him milking his cock as he came until he felt lightheaded.

Steve pulled slowly back, his lips held tight to Bucky’s cock as he slid off, taking any remaining mess with him. He swallowed again as he looked up at Bucky, licking his lips and smiling.

“You taste so good, baby.” Bucky shuddered at that. Steve’s voice was a little scratchy, and he’s always liked pet names, so hearing Steve say ‘baby’ while his voice was still raw from having Bucky’s cock down the back of his throat was doing viciously wicked things to Bucky.

“That was so good, Steve. God, that was amazing.” Bucky rambled, his fingers still stroking through Steve’s hair. “Let me, I want to …” Bucky gestured down towards Steve’s obvious erection.

Steve stood and flicked the button on his pants open, smiling at Bucky as he reversed their positions, leaving him against the wall and Bucky standing in front of him. Bucky grinned at him sank down to his knees, pulling Steve’s pants down with him as he went. Steve lifted each foot as Bucky worked his jeans off each leg and tossed the jeans behind him.

Steve’s cock was huge. Bucky didn’t feel like he had anything to be ashamed of himself, he was above average in the size department, but Steve was on the above average side of above average. Bucky couldn’t wait to have it in his mouth, and eventually in his ass. He was a lucky guy.

Bucky licked his lips and looked up at Steve through his lashes. Steve’s eyes were dark with arousal, his pupils blown wide, and his lips parted in anticipation as he looked down at Bucky. Bucky ran his hands up Steve’s thighs and parted his lips, taking the head of Steve’s cock into his mouth. Steve tasted good, all clean skin and a little salty.

Bucky started slow, moving his lips up and down Steve’s cock, taking a little more of him each time, wetting his cock as he went. Steve groaned above him, his eyes closing and his head falling back to rest against the wall.

“Yeah baby, that’s so good. Perfect, your mouth is just perfect.” Steve husked out, his voice deep with arousal and need. Bucky loved men that were vocal in bed, and Steve was off to a great start.

Bucky moaned his approval around Steve’s cock as he started to move faster. When Bucky had about half of Steve’s cock in his mouth he moved his hands front the front of Steve’s thighs to wrap around the back, pulling Steve forward into his mouth just a bit.

Steve opened his eyes into slits and looked down at Bucky, his breath coming in faster pants.

“Yeah? You sure, Buck? I don’t want to hurt you.” Steve said earnestly. He ran one hand through Bucky’s hair to wrap around the back of his head.

Bucky nodded and hummed, looking up at Steve. He wanted to watch Steve come apart for him. Steve moved his other hand to the back of Bucky’s head, holding him gently in place. He started thrusting gently, like he was testing the waters. Bucky moaned in encouragement and kept his eyes locked on Steve, trying to convey just how much this was ok without words.

“That’s so good baby, you’re taking me so well.” Steve murmured. Bucky moaned in satisfaction at the praise, trying to relax his throat as Steve pushed a little deeper with each thrust. He’d never had anyone quite as big as Steve, but he’d played around with learning to deep throat. Looks like he’d be getting a lot of practice in with Steve.

Steve picked up his pace, thrusting a little deeper and a little faster.

“Yeah baby, can you take a little more? Open up for me?” Steve asked softly. Bucky moaned around him, tugging on the back of Steve’s to say ‘yes, please, give me more’.

“Yeah Buck, that’s it. I’m so close, your mouth is so good baby. Swallow it all for me, come on.” Steve rasped, thrusting faster. Bucky felt Steve’s thighs tense under his hands and looked eagerly up watch Steve come apart above him.

Steve cried out and gripped the back of Bucky’s head tighter when he started to cum. Bucky felt the first burst of cum slide down the back of his throat and swallowed reflexively around Steve’s cock. He kept swallowing as rope after hot rope of cum slid down his throat. Steve eased back and loosened his hold on Bucky hair, sliding down the wall in front of Bucky.

Steve slid down the wall to sit in front of Bucky, pulling at him until Bucky was sitting on his lap. Steve slid his hands over Bucky’s back, gently rubbing as he brought their lips together in a gentle kiss, both of them tasting of the other.

“You ok? It wasn’t too much?” Steve asked gently.

“Not too much. I’m good, I’m so very good.” Bucky buried his face in Steve’s neck and settled more comfortably on his lap.

“I stand corrected.” Bucky mumbled sleepily.

“About what?” Steve asked, Bucky could hear the amusement in his voice.

“You’re the best boyfriend ever even when it’s not cold.”

Bucky felt himself shake with Steve’s laughter under him.

* * *

Bucky groaned and rolled over in bed, not ready to be awake. It felt like he’d only been asleep for a couple of hours, he could see the sun peaking around the dark curtains he had hung in an effort to block out the sun while he was doing his overnight rotations at the Emergency Vet Clinic. He should not be awake while the sun was still up.

Bucky reached blindly for the phone ringing on his night stand, grunting as he groped repeatedly with no results. Finally, his fingers found purchase on the phone, and Bucky brought up to his ear.

“Hello?” Bucky didn’t bother to open his eyes, hoping if he didn’t he’d be able to fall asleep easier when he got whoever was calling off the phone.

“Hey Buck, I’m really sorry to wake you up …” Steve’s voice was apologetic.

“No, don’t be.” Bucky’s head cleared quickly, he pulled the phone back from his ear to check the time. It was only an hour before he was supposed to wake up anyway, Steve was worth an hour of lost sleep.

“I hate to ask you this, but I was wondering if you could come over? I just got back from that thing I had to do.” Steve said. That ‘thing he had to do’ was generally how they referred to times when Steve had to leave to do things he wasn’t able to give Bucky specifics about. It had taken some time to adjust to not being able to know where his boyfriend was or what he was doing while he was there, but they were adjusting.

“Are you ok?” Bucky asked. They were supposed to have breakfast the next morning when Bucky was done with his clinical.

“Yeah, I’m fine, nothing serious. I was thinking though, I know how much you like getting to practice your suturing …” Steve trailed off.

Bucky sat straight up in bed, shoving the covers down and scrambling out of bed. “Are you hurt? Steve, you need to call 911 if you’re hurt! Why did they let you come home if you’re hurt?”

“I’m fine, Buck. I refused to go to medical when I got back, it’s not their fault. I thought it would be fine on it’s own, but it’s being stubborn.” Steve assured.

“Not that you would know anything about being stubborn!” Bucky groused. Bucky got a pair of scrubs from his closet and them on quickly. One advantage of having scrubs as a required uniform was it took him about two minutes to be dressed enough to walk out the door. Bucky pulled a pair of socks from his dresser drawer and sat down on the bed to pull them on, then grabbed his keys and headed out of the apartment, slipping his clogs on his feet on his way out.

“I’m not stubborn. I know my body, Buck.” Steve argued.

Bucky snorted. “Is that why you’re calling me? Cause that body you know is doing what you knew it would do?”

“I might be a little embarrassed at the idea of going back to medical after I insisted that I would be fine. And I will be fine, it’ll still heal, it’ll just take longer if I don’t get it stitched up.” Steve admitted, still stubbornly clinging to the knowledge that one way or the other he would heal.

“Steve, seriously, if it’s bad you need to go back to medical.” Bucky insisted.

Bucky was already jogging towards the nearest subway station. Steve’s apartment wasn’t that far from Bucky’s, it wouldn’t take him long to get there.

“It’s not that bad, Buck, I promise.” Steve said gently.

“I’m not a people doctor, Steve. I’m not even an animal doctor yet! I don’t have anything I can even stitch you up with.” Bucky groaned.

“I’ve got a pretty extensive first aid kit. I’m sorry to ask, you don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.” Steve assured him.

“I’ll take a look when I get there. But if I think for a second it’s anything other than superficial damage, you are on your way to the hospital pronto!” Bucky said firmly.

“Deal.” Bucky could hear the satisfaction in Steve voice and rolled his eyes.

“I’ll be there soon.” Bucky exchanged a quick goodbye with Steve, swiping his metro card to get on the subway.

Bucky fidgeted the whole way to Steve’s apartment, worry and irritation bubbling inside him. He knew Steve was enhanced, knew that Steve could bounce back from things that a normal human couldn’t. Logically, he knew that. That didn’t help the emotional part of him that hated seeing Steve hurt, hated knowing that Steve was putting himself in danger on a regular basis. It definitely didn’t help that Steve was stubborn about accepting medical treatment for things he considered superficial, that he assured everyone the serum could handle just fine without interference from a doctor.

Apparently today, he had over estimated what his serum enhanced body could do. Bucky wasn’t sure how he felt about the fact that he was Steve’s first call instead of someone at his super secret government agency that could get him to a doctor. He would help Steve in any way that he could, but he wasn’t a doctor. He wasn’t even a veterinarian yet. He had basic knowledge of human anatomy but was not in any way comfortable treating a human being for any kind of medical condition.

When Bucky exited the subway station he was only two blocks from Steve's apartment, so he jogged the rest of the way there. He made quick work of the stairs, feeling a little bad about not stopping to be polite to the neighbor he passed in the stairwell, but too concerned about Steve to do anything about it. Bucky knocked on the apartment door, impatiently waiting for Steve to open it.

When Steve opened the door his hair was still wet from the shower and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He had grey sweats hanging low on his hips, and his left hand was holding a towel high up on his right side under his arm.

“You have bedhead.” Steve grinned.

“That happens when you roll out of bed and walk out the door in under ten minutes.” Bucky said absently, stepping through the door and putting both hands over Steve’s on the towel. “Sit down, let me see.”

“It’s not that bad, I promise.” Steve walked with Bucky to the kitchen table, sitting in a chair and raising his right arm.

“I’ll decide how bad it is, Rogers.” Bucky grumbled.

Bucky slowly pulled the towel down, making sure it hadn’t stuck to the wound underneath. The cut under Steve’s arm was ragged, not a clean slice, and it was oozing blood. Which was better than poring blood, so there was that.

“When did this happen?” Bucky asked, his tone was professional and distanced, his focus on the injury.

“Last night.” Steve replied.

“It looks like this has been stitched, the stitches were taken out too soon, and it reopened. Medical didn’t do anything to it at all?” Buck asked.

“No, it was closing up good on it’s own, but I pulled it when I was in the shower. It started bleeding again.” Steve sounded irritated about that, like his body had offended him by daring to bleed.

“Sutures will hold it together long enough for it to heal, but you’ll still have to be careful with it for … well I’m not sure how long, not with the way you heal. I’ll have to keep an eye on it, take the sutures out based on what I see and not on any kind of normal time frame.” Bucky murmured.

“There’s no chance there’s anything still in there?” Bucky knew better than to ask what happened, Steve couldn’t say and they both knew it.

“No, it was nothing like that.” Steve assured.

“Ok.” Bucky pulled back. “I can stitch it up, if I have everything I need to do it.”

“First aid kit is in the bathroom, it should have everything you need in there.” Steve started to stand up to get the first aid kit, but Bucky pushed him back down.

“Stay there, I’ll get it.” Bucky retrieved the first aid kit from the bathroom and brought it back into the kitchen, setting in the table and opening it up. Bucky wasn’t so sure he’d call this a first aid kit, it was more like a mobile ambulance supply. The duffel bad was stuffed full of anything and everything Bucky could ask for. There was everything from band aids and aspirin packets, to a full intubation kit in the bag.

“Well, that’s definitely everything I need. Jesus, Steve.” Bucky said, still gaping at the medical supplies strewn all over the kitchen table.

“Government issued.” Steve smiled at him.

Bucky shook his head, moving to the sink to wash his hands. Once his hands were clean he sat next to Steve and the arranged supplies, pulled on a pair of gloves and removed a syringe from its sterile packaging. Bucky looked at the bottles of medication, most of which re recognized, and grabbed a bottle of Novocain.

“That ones not going to work, Buck.” Steve said, shaking his head at the bottle.

“I’ve got to numb this, Steve.” Bucky knew he looked a little panicked, but there was no way he was sticking a needle through Steve’s skin repeatedly if the man could feel it.

“I know, but you have to use the other bottle. It’s the only one that will work on me, and it’s not going to work for long. So no pressure or anything, but the faster you can go the better.” Steve gestured at an unmarked bottle.

“I don’t know what this is. I don’t know the dosage on this. That’s not safe, Steve.” Bucky argued, picking up the unmarked bottle and turning it over in his hands. Everything in him was screaming that this very much went against every bit of his medical training, even if his training was all based on animal patients instead of human patients. There were some things that translated over, and this was one of them. It was not safe to inject unknown substances in unknown quantities into any living being.

“I know what it is, Buck. It was designed for me and my metabolism, it’s the only thing that I won’t burn through before it even has a chance to work. And the dosage is the same on that as it would be for the stuff that works on everybody else. I promise Buck, they trained me on this stuff so that I could walk a medic through it if I needed to.” Steve reached a hand out and laid it reassuringly on Bucky’s arm.

Bucky gave Steve a disgruntled look pushed the needle into the cap of the bottle, drawing some of the liquid into the syringe. “I know you’re a terrible patient, but are you gonna hold still for me?”

Steve laughed, raising his right arm higher and leaning back in the chair to get into a position he could hold comfortably while Bucky worked. “Yes, Bucky. I promise to behave.”

Bucky rolled his eyes at Steve, and wiped gently around the outside of the ragged gash with an alcohol wipe, being careful not to get any into the wound. After disinfecting the area, he worked his way around the wound with the syringe, numbing the area. Bucky set the syringe aside picked up a an iodine wipe and some saline solution, cleaning and irrigating the wound.

Bucky picked up one of the suture kits, pulling the needle and thread from the packaging. “Let me know when it kicks in.”

“Burns.” Steve scrunched his nose up, tilting his head to try and get a look.

“Well, that sounds normal at least.” Bucky smiled at him. He pulled the needle back, letting the string hang and picked up the forceps from the suture kit. He was about to start poking at Steve’s side to see how much feeling he had when the needle was tugged from his hand.

“Bucky looked down, startled. “Hey! Winter, no! Bad kitty!” Winter paid him no mind, batting the string across he kitchen floor and chasing it.

“Winter!” Steve called in a resigned voice. He started getting up to go after her, but Bucky pushed him down again.

“I’ve got her.” Bucky chased her across the kitchen floor, trying to get the string away from her before she hurt herself with the needle. He caught up to her when she batted the string up against the edge of the counter, stopping her progress. Bucky picked the needle up, sighing at tossing it into the trash before removing his gloves and tossing those in the trash too.

“You’re such a handful!” Bucky chuckled softly at the cat. She wasn’t fully grown yet, but she was far from the cute little kitten Steve had taken home in a box. She’d more than doubled in size over the last six months. “You better be glad there was more than one of those in the first aid kit!”

Bucky washed his hands again and moved back to the table, sitting back down and putting on another pair of gloves. He opened another suture kit and poked at Steve’s side. “Feel that?”

“Nope!” Steve grinned at him.

“You’re handling this awfully well.” Bucky said. Bucky started at the bottom of the gash, keeping his sutures close together and even. He normally didn’t have to worry too much about cosmetics and his patients were usually unconscious any time he sutured them up, so while the motions were familiar the situation was still new.

“You’re doing great, Buck. I knew I could trust you with this.” Steve said sincerely.

Bucky looked up at him, smiling shyly and ducking his head back over his work. “I’m not supposed to be doing this, you know.”

“I know, but I appreciate it. I hate medical. The smells, the white rooms, and it’s always so cold in there.” Steve shuddered.

“It helps keep the room clean. Bacteria doesn’t like the cold.” Bucky kept his eyes on his work, but bumped his knee against Steve’s comfortingly.

“I know, I just hate the cold.” Steve rested his left hand on Bucky’s knee, squeezing gently.

“I know, Stevie. It’s not cold in here though. It’s warm and I’m here, and Winter’s here. And I’m gonna turn up the heat a little bit before I leave for my shift and make sure you’re comfy under a blanket for the rest of the night.” Bucky smiled up at him.

“The only part of that that doesn’t sound perfect is the part where you leave for your shift.” Steve said.

Bucky chuckled, bumping his knee again. “You know I gotta go.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Steve grumbled good naturedly.

Bucky finished the last suture and clipped the thread, sitting back to take a look. He thought it looked pretty good, nice even stitching all the way across. A gauze pad and some tape, and the wound was clean, sutured, and covered. Bucky pulled his gloves off and sat back, grinning at Steve. “Good as new.”

“Thanks, Buck.” Steve leaned forward, his lips covering Bucky’s. Bucky leaned into the kiss, raising a hand to cup the side of Steve’s face.

“I hate to stitch and run, but I’ve got to get to the clinic.” Bucky said as he pulled away.

“I know. But you should really fix your bed head before you go.” Steve teased.

Bucky smacked Steve’s uninjured side lightly and pushed away from the table. “Go get comfortable on the couch, I’ll go fix my bedhead.”

“Yes Sir!” Steve gave him a little salute and headed towards the couch.

Bucky shook his head and headed into the bathroom, borrowing Steve’s hairbrush and tried to take his ridiculous hair. Steve was right, hair was flat to the side of his head on one side and sticking straight up on the top. No amount of brushing was going to fix that. Bucky wet his hands and ran his fingers through his hair then brushed it again. Still not great, but that would have to do. He grabbed a t-shirt from Steve’s dresser on the way back to the living room and snagged the throw on the back of one of the chairs.

“I’ll help you get into this before I go. Do you need anything else? You should try to rest for the rest of the night.” Bucky helped Steve into the shirt, pulling it up his arms so he wasn’t stretching above his head to get it on.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry. You still gonna have breakfast with me in the morning, right?” Steve settled back against the pillows he’d stacked in front of the arm of the couch, kicking his feet up on the other side.

“How about I stop and get breakfast and bring it back here when I get off?” Bucky suggested.

“Buck, I’m fine. I can go to breakfast.” Steve insisted.

“Humor me.” Bucky said dryly.

“Fine.” Steve caved easily. “But stay here after breakfast?”

“I knew that was too easy.” Bucky chuckled.

“Humor me.” Steve threw his words back at him.

Bucky laughed, shaking his head at Steve. It wasn’t like staying after breakfast would be a hardship for Bucky, there really wasn’t any reason for him to argue. Besides, it would give him easy access to check on the progress of Steve’s sutures. Bucky looked down as Winter brushed against his legs, winding herself between them.

“Are you gonna watch your Daddy for me? Keep him out of trouble?” Bucky asked her, reaching down to rub behind her ears.

“I think she’s going to cause trouble, is what she’s going to do.” Steve looked fondly at Winter.

“You love her.” Bucky said knowingly.

“I really do.” Steve laughed.

Bucky picked her up and walked her to the couch, laying her on Steve’s stomach. Winter gave a disgruntled little sniff in Bucky’s direction before she started pawing at the blanket Bucky had dropped on Steve’s lap and found a comfortable place to settle and start kneading. Bucky leaned down and kissed Steve’s forehead.

“I’ll see you in the morning. Text me if you need anything though, ok? Or if anything changes. Actually, call medical before you call me if anything changes.” Bucky amended quickly.

“I promise, Buck.”

Bucky left Steve and Winter laying together on the couch and headed back to the subway. He still had enough time to make it to the clinic on time, and if the trains were running on time tonight he might even have enough time to grab a caramel cappuccino too. It was going to be a long night, worrying about Steve until he could get back to check on him in the morning. The caffeine would do him good.

* * *

“Dr. Barnes.” Bucky turned around to see Steve beaming at him a few feet away, a large bouquet of red roses in his hands.

“It’s definitely going to take a while to get used to that.” Bucky laughed, walking to Steve. He clutched his ‘symbolic’ diploma in his hands. He wouldn’t get the real one for a couple of weeks, but he wasn’t letting go of this one. Symbolic of not, the feeling of it in his hands was making him a little light headed with giddiness.

Steve held out the bouquet of roses, and Bucky took them from him. They really were beautiful, and there must have been two dozen of them. “I’m so proud of you, Buck.”

Bucky blushed, ducking his head. “They’re beautiful, Stevie, thank you. I’m pretty proud of me too. I worked so hard for this Steve, and I just can’t believe it’s finally here. I’m a Doctor, can you believe it? I can’t believe it.”

“I can absolutely believe it. I’ve known you almost a year now Bucky, and you’re one of the most determined hard working people I’ve ever met.” The conviction in Steve’s voice when he said it gave Bucky a warm fluttery feeling in his stomach. To have this man proud of him was still a little overwhelming to Bucky.

“Now I just gotta get a job.” Bucky had a couple of offers from some of the offices he had worked clinicals at, but he hadn’t made any decisions yet. He wanted to make sure he was making the right choice. He still had a lot of student loan debt to pay back, and thinking about those payments starting up in six months when his grace period was over was a little nerve wracking. Adulting can be so hard.

Steve wrapped an arm around his waist and guided them out of the auditorium. “You’ve got offers, sweetheart. Two offices that are eager to have you come work for them, and you have applications out with a few more. You’ve got this, Bucky.”

“Have I told you I love you today? Because I do. I really do.” Bucky sighed happily. Bucky knew he had this, he knew he’d done everything he could to set himself up to succeed, but that didn’t mean hearing it from Steve didn’t bolster his confidence. It still hit him hard sometimes, how supportive Steve could be.

“I love you too. So much.” Steve brushed a kiss against his cheek. Bucky leaned further into Steve’s side.

“So, you’re cooking me dinner tonight, huh?” Steve had wanted to celebrate Bucky’s graduation at home, and Bucky was happy to oblige. He and Steve had met a group of classmates at a bar the previous weekend to celebrate their last clinical. Bucky may have had a little more to drink than he should have, but Steve had been amused and fond as Bucky had gotten friendlier and more affectionate as the night wore on and the alcohol continued to flow. It had been a good night, and Steve had taken Bucky home with him and tucked him into bed.

“Yep. I’ve got the whole menu planned. All of your favorites are on it. And then for dessert … I’ve got a few more of your favorite things planned for that too.” Steve whispered huskily into his ear.

Bucky shivered. He was really looking forward to dessert.

* * *

 

Dinner was delicious, and Bucky was happily leaned back full and content in a chair at the table when Steve slid a small box across the table to Bucky.

“I know you said you didn’t want anything for graduation, and I didn’t buy you anything, but I thought this might be a good time for this.” Steve wasn’t meeting Bucky’s eyes and he looked a little nervous.

“What is it?” Bucky asked, Steve’s nerves rubbing off on him.

“Open it.” Steve said softly.

Bucky reached for the small box, pulling it into his lap. He looked back at Steve one more time before he lifted the lid. Inside was a key with a gray and white kitten head for a base. It looked just like Winter.

“Steve?” Bucky breathed.

“I didn’t want to mess with your schedule with your job and your clinicals and your final practical’s. You’ve had a lot on your plate the last few months, and I know how stressful moving can be. But it’ll be a few weeks before you start working and I thought now might be a good time to ask you to move in with me.” Steve still looked nervous, but he also looked hopeful.

“Steve … yes. Of course!” Bucky sat the box back on the table and threw his arms around Steve.

Steve stood and picked Bucky up with him. Even after almost a year it still sent a thrill up Bucky’s spine every time every time Steve picked him up.

“Come on Dr. Barnes. Let’s go take care of that dessert in _our_ bed.”


End file.
